"You ever hear the expression, 'the silence is deafening'?"

They had been driving like this for several minutes, and had passed Timmy's house three times. It seemed that Vicky was lost in thought, and was hoping the driving would jog her memory, it didn't seem to be working though, so Timmy opted to ask her something, if only to break the silence.

"Has anyone ever told you you're annoying?"

"Many times actually, why do you think I'm annoying?"

"Because I think you may be right."

He waited for Vicky to elaborate, but it seemed she wasn't going to, and he had already guessed what it was she was referring to. This particular subject seemed to be rather delicate, so he wasn't going to bring it up any further. "At least, not for now..."

"So... you wanna spend one more night at my house, or do you wanna just wish the rest of the stuff over there?"

"Let's just wish the rest of your stuff over there, we'll sleep at the loft tonight and get my stuff tomorrow."

Upon arriving at Timmy's house, they went up stairs straightaway and told Cosmo and Wanda to come out.

"So today's the big day, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna miss this place..."

"Really?" Vicky had a look of surprise on her face.

"No." He smiled at her. "I may have a lot of memories here, but I have you three, and all my things, I think it'll be better to make new memories."

"Jeez, you say some of the cheesiest things..." she walked over to Timmy and pulled him into a warm embrace. "But that's why I love you."

"It's not my charming personality, or my devilish good looks?"

"Well, there's that too." she leaned in close to kiss him, but was interrupted by an 'ahem' from Wanda. "Oh, right. I wish the rest of Timmy's things were at our new apartment... and my suitcase."

With a wave of their wands, all of the remaining items in the room were whisked away, leaving just the fishbowl and a small gift-wrapped box where the bed had been. Cosmo and Wanda returned to their fish forms in the bowl, which Timmy then grabbed. "That box... your birthday present? Vicky, you still haven't opened that?"

"Well seeing as how Ricky decided to show up on my birthday and make attempts on both of our lives and we were kind of distracted by that, no. Then when all that calmed down... I misplaced it, guess it must've gotten knocked under the bed."

"You gonna open it?"

Vicky walked over to the box and picked it up, then turned it over in her hands a few times. "Later, I'll make sure not to misplace it again." she pocketed it and headed for the door. "Now we just need to head over to my house and get the rest of my things, I wish-"

"Why don't we just drive there? Last time you wished us somewhere, you forgot to wish the car with us, and your house is only a few blocks away."

Vicky groaned in annoyance. "But I'm lazy..." her annoyance quickly turned to childish whining.

"You can be lazy when we get back to the apartment."

"Fine..."

Several minutes later they arrived at Vicky's house and headed inside. "Timmy, go upstairs and wait for me in my room, I'm gonna call Tootie."

"Ah, alright then. Best of luck to you."

"Thanks, do me a favor and wish my furniture over there..."

"And the weapons?"

"Yeah those too, I'll have to figure out where I'm gonna keep them at the loft..." she trailed off and began scrolling through contacts in her phone.

Timmy left her in the kitchen and headed up to her room, as he approached her door, he couldn't help the feeling of foreboding that came over him. "I'll never get used to that... at least it's the last time I'll have to go in here." he entered the room and turned on the light switch, once again revealing the flippable walls of weapons. "I don't know about you guys, but this room makes me uncomfortable, especially without Vicky..."

Wanda looked around at the various weapons. "I can't imagine why..." she remarked sarcastically.

"Alright, I wish all of the heavy furniture and all the weapons were at the apartment." Cosmo and Wanda raised their wands and the specified items faded from existence, leaving only the more portable things, Vicky's computer, some clothing, and other personal effects. "My work here is done!"

Meanwhile in the kitchen...

"Ugh... c'mon Tootie, pick up..." Vicky had repeatedly tried dialing Tootie's number, yet she hadn't answered. "What the hell..."

"Hello?"

"Tootie! Finally, are you okay?"

"Fine, why?"

"I've been trying to reach you for a few minutes now... well, I've been meaning to call you all day, but I kept procrastinating..."

"Well, you have me now."

"Are you still... mad at me?"

"I'm not happy, but no, I'm not mad, not anymore."

"I'm sorry... I don't really know what else I can say..."

"Timmy already explained most of it, so don't worry."

"So you forgive me?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Tootie."

"Yes! I forgive you! I'm not gonna stay mad at you over something like this."

"Thanks Tootie, you're too good of a sister for someone like me..."

"Oh stop! You haven't had it easy, and yes, you've been cruel, but you're far from the worst person around, stop beating yourself up, it's getting kinda old, to be honest."

"Here we are again, the little sister giving advice to the older one..."

"Well, one of us has to be rational when the other isn't..."

"Heh, you got that right... Can I tell you something?"

"Go ahead."

"I'm... moving out, I've wanted to get my own place for awhile, and now I have enough money to do so."

"Why? Is this about me?"

"No! Of course not! It's more about...Mom and Dad... I want to live somewhere else, I found a nice place in the city..."

"But... what about me?" hearing the sadness in Tootie's voice caused Vicky to feel a pain not unlike a needle in her heart.

"I'll still come visit, and you can visit anytime you like, but I need to strike out on my own. You still have Mom and Dad, it won't be all that different..."

"But you won't be there anymore..." there was a pause that lasted a few moments before Tootie spoke again. "Can I..."

"Hm?"

"Can I come with you? Maybe move in with you?"

"Tootie come on, you know you can't, I don't have custody of you, and you're too young to move out anyway... Mom and Dad are almost certainly not going to go along with this either..." "There's also the fact that Timmy is moving in with me..."

"But..."

"Look... I'm not saying I have a problem with you living with me, but you'll need to talk to Mom and Dad about all that. I suggest not getting your hopes up though, you know how they are with you... and with me."

"So... there's a chance?"

"A ridiculously small one, but yes, I suppose so. How's Tibecuador by the way?"

"Hot, the thermometer hasn't dropped below ninety-five for the past week, and humid too, there was hope it would break when it rained, but it hasn't rained yet. How's home?"

"We've been hit with some freak storm, it's been raining heavily for the past couple days, I'm honestly surprised there haven't been any flood warnings, the rain hasn't let up at all. And... I'm making friends, for the first time, I have a real friend... granted she's the building owner but..."

"That's good! I'm happy for you! How did you convince her you aren't evil?"

"I'm not evil! Not to everyone... but anyway, she isn't from around here, I think she must've moved here within the last few years."

"Just messing with you Vicky. I know you aren't evil..."

"She seems pretty nice, she even gave me a great deal on the apartment and helped me move."

"You're- you're already moving out?" the pained voice was back again.

"Well... yeah, I know it's kinda sudden but... If I took too long, I was afraid I would've chickened out, so I'm doing things pretty fast. All that's left are some clothes and a few other things. Have Mom and Dad even mentioned me?"

"They- well, I mean-" Tootie sighed. "No. You knew that already..."

"Yeah... I guess I just... kinda hoped, y'know?"

"Yeah... I'm sorry..."

"It's not your fault Tootie, it's just how they are. I've gotta finish moving, let me know how talking to them goes, okay?"

"Alright... I'll call you later..."

Vicky hung up and pocketed her phone. "Well that went much better than expected." She ascended the stairs and entered her room. "So, what's left-"

The room was nearly empty, save for another pile of cardboard boxes, much like the one that had been at Timmy's house, in the corner. Her bed and dressers were gone, as was her computer table, and all her weapon racks were empty. "Huh, nice job. Are those boxes all that's left?"

"Yep. You want me to put them in the car, or...?"

"Leave them for now, Heather offered to help us move so..."

"Ah, gotcha. You want an excuse to hang out with her more."

Vicky smiled at him, knowing he was just trying to get a rise out of her. "Hah, if I wanted to hang out with her more, for the reason I know you're suggesting, I'd just call her up and invite her to dinner or something."

"What a great idea!" Timmy pulled out his phone and started scrolling through his contacts list, then pressed the call button.

"Very funny, I know you don't have her number."

"Unless I looked at your phone while you were going through it and took down a certain girl's number..."

Vicky paled at his statement. "Wha-What?! How did you-!"

"Shh, on the phone now, I can't concentrate when someone is talking to me on the phone, and someone else is talking to me as well."

"Urgh... hello?" a once again sleepy sounding Heather answered the phone.

"Heather? It's Timmy, Vicky's friend?"

"Boyfriend."

"Whatever."

"You woke me up..."

"It's seven in the evening."

There were several seconds of silence before Heather spoke again. "What's up?" she sounded less annoyed now, probably from her realization that she had slept most of the day away.

"I wanted to ask you..." Timmy looked at Vicky who was shaking her head back and forth. She had an almost pleading look on her face. Timmy's response was to smile evilly at her. "If you wanted to come over for dinner tonight."

"Oh... I don't know... I kinda had plans tonight..." she looked at her calender, it was blank save for the word 'sleep', which was written across the whole week. "Eh, what the hell, I can always do it another day, but isn't it kinda late for dinner already, and don't you guys have to move your stuff in and arrange it?"

"Don't worry about that, there shouldn't be much to move, and neither me nor Vicky have had the chance to get much to eat today, what about you?"

It was true that Heather hadn't gotten the chance to eat either, but that was because she slept most of the day, and when she wasn't sleeping, she was helping her new tenants move in. "I-" her stomach grumbled.

"I heard that."

"Then I guess I'll be over in about an hour."

"Great! See you soon!" he hung up the phone and looked at Vicky, who had an angry look on her face. "Oh don't look at me like that, you want her to come over as much as I do."

"You're a sadist, you know that?"

"Maybe so, but I'm also right, you won't deny that."

"Have you given any thought to all this? Like the fact that the loft is probably a disheveled mess? Or what we're gonna have for dinner?"

"Good thing I can cook then, huh?"

Wanda spoke up next. "And don't worry about the furniture, we placed it in a way that I think should be satisfactory."

"Are Cosmo and Wanda in on this scheme of yours too?!"

"No. This is just a lucky coincidence, right guys?"

"Yeah, what scheme are you referring to Vicky?"

"Nevermind, even if you did know, you likely wouldn't tell me anyway..."

"They really don't know, just me."

Vicky rubbed her forehead. "Well, I made up with Tootie while I was downstairs, so there's that. She wants to move in with us, thought you should know."

"And...?"

"That's it. I doubt my parents will allow her to move in with me, she's their princess after all."

"What about you?"

"Hm?"

"Do you want her to move in? Especially since we're dating? It could kinda be like rubbing it in her face. That's not even mentioning... well you know..."

"It's not like I plan on making out with you in front of her..."

"You'd rather have to walk on eggshells than not?"

"Do you have a problem with her living with us?"

"No, not at all, it just might make the whole 'relationship' thing difficult, if she wants to move in, and you want her to, I'm fine with it."

"Damn. Really thought he'd be against it. Then I'd at least have some small excuse." "Well she needs to figure things out with our parents first, it doesn't matter what we think if they don't allow it."

"Shall we head back to the apartment then?"

"Suppose so."

Timmy grabbed Cosmo and Wanda's fishbowl and followed Vicky out of the house and to her car.

Upon arriving at the building, they found Heather standing outside in the rain.

"Why are you out here? You and Vicky have the love of the rain in common too?"

"Nah, I like the rain, but when I woke up, my hair was a mess, so I came out here, now it's just wet."

"More like soaked, much like the rest of you."

"I don't always think my plans through, besides, a little rainwater never killed anyone."

"No, but it got them sick."

"Hm?"

"Vicky likes to stand in the rain." Vicky confirmed this by standing a few feet away and staring at the sky. "She told me to do the same a little while back, y'know try to experience it like she does, we both got sick."

"Was it worth it?"

"I'd say so. It's nice to see things from a different perspective, my mom told me that I shouldn't just stand in the rain, since I'd get sick, but I didn't mind that I got sick, long as I have her, I'm happy."

"As incredibly sappy as you saying that sounds, I gotta say, you really love her eh?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Only a little." she looked over at Vicky. "Yo! Let's get inside! I'm getting all pruny over here!"

This snapped Vicky out of her reverie and she walked over to Timmy and Heather. "So... sleep okay?"

"About as well as can be expected." she yawned and stretched. "Though I'm still pretty tired, to be honest. Were you guys able to move your stuff in?"

"Yeah, most of it, there's still some stuff at my house, if you're still offering your services?"

"Sure, no problem. So what's for dinner?"

"No idea, ask Master Chef over there, he hasn't told me anything."

"Sorry ladies, it's a surprise!"

Heather looked at Vicky. "I don't like the sound of that."

"My boyfriend assures me he is an excellent cook, though he has yet to demonstrate this fact..."

"I told you, I can cook, I just don't like to cook."

"Well then I expect to be awed by your culinary expertise."

"Me too!"

"All I require is that you two stay out of the kitchen while I cook, a master chef needs to have his secrets."

"What are we supposed to do while we wait?"

"With a huge TV, multiple game systems, a library of games and movies, and the internet at your disposal? Gee, I can't think of anything... Sorry!"

Vicky and Heather spoke simultaneously. "Smartass."

Upon entering the apartment, all three looked around at the now furnished space.

"Wow, those movers must've been skilled and quiet, I didn't hear them at all and look at this!"

"Guess we uh... picked the right guys for the job..." even Timmy was surprised by the work his godparents had done, it was hard to believe the furniture was all theirs', and in fact, it wasn't, neither of them owned a refrigerator, or a washing machine, or a dryer, yet these were there as well. Though he wondered where they had put Vicky's bed. If it was in the bedroom... it might be a little crowded in there now. "Alright, you two keep yourselves busy." he winked at Vicky as he said this, causing her to blush. "I'm gonna get started cooking."

"What was the wink for?"

"That? It's nothing, he just thinks he's smart."

Timmy was thankful that the kitchen was in its own space, at least, for the most part, there was no door, but a wall separated it from the rest of the loft's openness. Now he was contemplating what to do, he could either cook for real, or just wish some delicious meal into existence, which would be easier than cooking. He walked over to the cupboards and opened them... to find that they were quite empty. "Makes sense, seeing as how we just moved in... Cosmo, Wanda, I'm gonna need some ingredients..."

Back in the living room/main loft area...

"So..."

"So?"

"How long have you lived here in Dimmsdale?"

"About... two years now, moved out here when I was eighteen, about a month after my dad died, I just needed to get away from everything, start fresh, y'know?"

"Why do you think I'm moving out of my parents house?"

"Bad relationship with them, right?"

"It goes a bit further than that, they were never too bad when I was growing up." "And I'm not quite ready to talk about my dad with you..." "But once my sister was born, it was like I ceased to exist, they literally seemed to forget I was around, and I lashed out because of it. At anyone who was nearby, my sister and Timmy got the worst of it, since I had to babysit them, well him far more than her."

"Couldn't be all that bad if he forgave you, and is now dating you?"

"He's not like most people, I can guarantee if you put anyone else in his shoes, they wouldn't forgive me, not after everything I did, he's one of a kind." Vicky seemed to drift off as she said this.

"Hm... I'm no expert, but I'd say what you two have is true love, or damn close to it. Then again, I can't really say, the only relationships I've had have been... let's say one sided, like the men were stalkers."

"You're... pretty forthcoming about all this..."

"I haven't had many friends, and I've never told this to anyone, you seem like a trustworthy person, so I'm trusting you by telling you this."

"And what happened to these... men?"

"Well I didn't kill them, but they are dead."

"But you didn't do it?"

"Nope."

"Probably for the best, I've done my fair share of... illegal acts. Though in the case of my problem, he was less stalker, more psychopath, and I did kill him."

"Oh, so I've got a dangerous person living under my roof?"

"Only if you plan on hurting me or Timmy..."

"Hurt? Of course not. You guys are my friends, though something else may be on my mind..." she smirked at Vicky.

Vicky recognized the all too familiar sly smirk, mostly because it was one that Timmy occasionally flashed at her, and he had picked it up from her, now this new girl was doing it too. It seemed Timmy's concerns may have had some basis in fact, though perhaps not. Maybe she was just overly friendly because it was the way she thought she should act around friends, due to not having any of her own. At the same time, what exactly did she have on her mind? "Dare I ask what you're suggesting?"

"Just-"

"Hey! You two like tomato sauce, or alfredo?"

"You just gave away what you're making!"

"Better that I give it away than come out here only to realize that someone is picky!"

"Either or." the two girls answered simultaneously again.

Timmy chuckled to himself and returned to the kitchen.

"Are you two hiding... something?"

"Like?"

"The two of you have been dancing around some issue for a little while now. Don't try to deny it, my dad was a writer, they tend to be good at reading people, I picked up a few tricks from him, it's how I knew you two were lying about being brother and sister, so spill it."

"I don't know if you'll like what you're about to hear..."

"You two aren't planning on killing me and taking over the apartment, are you?"

"No... that might actually be an easier conversation than this one..."

Vicky looked at Heather.

Heather looked at Vicky.

"Well now you have to spill the details, this sounds too interesting to let go!"

"Urgh... fine, so Timmy brought up the fact that you seem kinda... flirty with him at times..."

"He did? …Do I seem that way to you?"

"Well, I told him it was just his imagination, that you were just being friendly."

"Okay..."

"But he countered back that you were being flirty and the only reason I didn't care must be that I like you... And before you suggest that I like you as a friend, he was suggesting the other like, y'know, that like."

"Ah, I see. He's pretty perceptive, huh?"

"Yeah, I suppose so- Wait, what?"

"I'm a writer's kid, remember? Granted I can't read you like a book, but there are subtle hints I picked up on."

"More like subtle hints you're imagining..." Vicky tried her best to hide the nervousness in her voice, it wasn't working.

"I suppose I'm imagining that wavering in your voice too?"

"Must be, I'm cool as a cucumber." her confidence was returning, barely.

"We'll see about that..." Heather sprang forward at Vicky, pinning her to the floor, leaving their faces mere centimeters apart, a few locks of Heather's hair now hung down and lightly tickled Vicky's cheeks. "So, I suppose I must be imagining your quickening heartbeat, and reddening face as well?"

Ever the defiant one, Vicky spoke. "Now that's really a case of the pot calling the kettle black." Vicky knew her face was red, something that, up until now, only Timmy could do. But Heather's was red too.

"Think your boyfriend would be mad at finding us like this?"

"Somehow I doubt it, I'm more concerned with him finding out he was right." she tried to wriggle out from under the blonde, but to no avail. "C'mon, you've had your fun, now get off."

"I'd say my fun is just getting started..." she lowered herself so that their noses were touching.

"Hey! Food's ready! Come and eat!"

The surprise was exactly what Vicky was hoping for. "Saved by the Twerp!" she rolled out from under Heather and stood up, then offered her hand, which Heather took gratefully.

A/N: So by now, a lot of you are maybe wondering: "Where is SaltyJak taking this?" In all honesty, no idea. Thanks to a certain reader of mine (grifisme) I have more ideas to torture these two with, in addition to my own. This would have been out earlier today, but I downloaded the newest episode of The Walking Dead game and I just had to play it, I kinda wished I hadn't now. Spoilers ahead: Hope nobody got too attached to Sarah, I'm honestly pretty tore up about it, but that's what you get for liking characters too much.